Roswell’s historic Mimosa Hall to go solar

Solar panels will be integrated with the new roof of historic Mimosa Hall in Roswell. AJC FILE

Solar panels will be integrated with the new roof of historic Mimosa Hall in Roswell. AJC FILE

The Roswell City Council has approved the installation of solar panels and other energy-saving measures for Mimosa Hall, making the historic house what officials called a “net zero” building in terms of energy use.

The retrofit is expected to cost about $135,000. The city agreed to pay the Friends of Mimosa, the nonprofit organized to help preserve the property and raise funds for it, $35,990 to go toward the roof replacement and solar installation.

The building will get solar panels and a solar thermal system integrated with the roof. The panels will connect to batteries that will store excess solar energy for nighttime and rainy day use.

The city paid $2.95 million last summer to buy Mimosa Hall and its nine-acre site. The house dates to 1840 and had been on the “Places in Peril” list of the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. A new roof was needed, and the city budgeted funds for it.